


December 7: Snowstorm

by scarletmanuka



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Blizzards & Snowstorms, Christmas, Criminal Minds Advent Calendar, M/M, ProfilersForChristmas2016
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-07
Updated: 2016-12-07
Packaged: 2018-08-30 18:15:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8543875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scarletmanuka/pseuds/scarletmanuka
Summary: Prompt:
    Quantico gets an epic snowstorm and everyone has taken refuge on base. Kids and spouses present as well.Could be fun and fluffy, could be angsty.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [ProfilersForChristmas2016](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/ProfilersForChristmas2016) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
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> Quantico gets an epic snowstorm and everyone has taken refuge on base. Kids and spouses present as well.  
> Could be fun and fluffy, could be angsty.

Every now and then, the howl of the wind could be heard even from inside the conference room, followed by the flickering of lights. Everyone would pause, and look around with worried eyes, before going back to whatever activity was keeping them occupied.

Will appeared at Aaron’s side, and handed him a cup of coffee. “Figured neither of us would get any sleep so may as well have some help staying alert,” he explained, leaning against the wall next to him.

“Thanks,” Aaron said, accepting the cup gratefully. He blew on it before taking a sip, his eyes on Jack and the other children. “They seem to be holding up well,” he noted, sounding relieved.

“Yeah, I think now that they’re here, they’re finding it nowhere near as scary as they thought it would be. In fact, I reckon they’re having a ball of a time.”

Aaron had to agree. When the warning about the snowstorm had come, people had started panicking, believing it would be a near apocalyptic event. Of course, the more sensationalist news channels hadn’t helped with the tone they’d taken of their coverage. Before lunchtime, supermarket shelves had been cleared, and numerous fights had broken out over cartons of bottled water and tins of beans. Then came the reports of looting, and the storm hadn’t even hit. School had been let out early and when he’d picked up Jack, he’d found the son in the middle of a panic attack. He’d gotten so worked up over the exaggerated stories about how bad the storm would be, that he was sure they would all die and he’d never see any of them again. He’d called JJ and discovered that Henry was in much the same state, and made a decision.

Aaron had spoken to Cruz and secured permission for the team and their families to ride out the snowstorm at Quantico, hoping that keeping them altogether would alleviate some of the children’s fears. It also would help keep Aaron calm, knowing that his adopted family were together and safe. Although it wasn’t going to be a world-ending event, the storm was meant to be one of the biggest and nastiest Virginia had seen in over seven decades, and the dangers were real. Having everyone together in a secure location like Quantico just made sense.

They had cleared the floor of the conference room and had laid out sleeping bags, and once agents from other teams had arrived with their families, it had taken on the vibe of a school camp. Jack, Henry, and the other children were clustered around Reid, who was entertaining them with his Physics Magic, with Jess being his faithful assistant. JJ sat next to them, bouncing Michael on her lap, and the baby was happily chewing on his fist and drooling everywhere.

There came a particularly vicious howl of wind and the lights not only flickered, but went off. A few moments later, emergency lighting flickered on, and Aaron noted that the kids had been so distracted by Reid, that they looked around with curiosity and not fear.

“Generator?” Will asked.

“Yeah. It’ll run emergency lighting and the heat, but that’s about it.”

Dave and Morgan made their way over. “I’ve bought in my camping stove so I’m going to set that up in the kitchen and make the kids some hot chocolate before they go to bed.”

“Sounds like a good plan, Gramps,” Aaron said with a smirk.

“And just like that, Agent Hotchner gets no hot chocolate.”

“Your grandpa eyes obviously don’t work - I’ve got coffee, so withhold your hot chocolate as much as you like.”

Dave’s grandpa eyes narrowed. “Didn’t your parents ever teach you to respect your elders?”

Morgan chuckled. “Careful, Hotch. Keep that up and Rossi might think it a good idea to fill the bottom of your sleeping bag will Jello.”

“Since he forgot his dentures, he’ll need to save the Jello for his dinner.”

“You’re a real prat when you’re not wearing your Unit Chief hat, you know that?” Dave asked with a glare.

Aaron shrugged. “Can’t have everything, Dave. Either I’m your boss, which means there’s a nice stack of consults with your name on them, or I’m just me, which means I can be as big a pain in your ass as I want.”

“Remind me again why you’re my best friend?”

“Because no one else will listen to your stories about ‘Back in my day, we didn’t have fandangled technology like wheels or fire.’ You’re lucky I put up with them.”

Dave turned to Morgan. “This Jello you speak of? It’s in the kitchen?”

Morgan laughed. “I’ll help you get it. I’ve heard green is the slimiest.”

Will laughed as they left. “It’s good to see you happy again, Aaron It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you relaxed enough to have a joke.”

Aaron’s eyes flickered across to Reid. “Yeah, well, I forgot what it was like to _be_ happy. I’m lucky that I finally found someone who made me realise I don’t always have to have my armour on.”

“You’re good for him too. Jayje and I have really noticed a change in him. He never really got over Maeve - he was functioning but there wasn’t that light in his eyes if ya know what I mean. But that light is back now, and it’s brighter than ever.”

  
Reid must have felt eyes on him, because he looked up and grinned. Aaron grinned back, unable to stop the happiness that welled up in him. “He deserves to be happy, Will. I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure that that light keeps shining.”

Will clapped him on the back. “Glad to hear it. Of course, as his unofficial big brother, I do have to say that if you hurt him, I _will_ kill you.”

“If I hurt him, Will, I’ll gladly hand myself over to you.”

“Glad we have an understanding,” the detective said with a smile.

It wasn’t long before Dave and Morgan were back, carrying a tray of mugs and passing them around to the kids. Will went to help JJ with the baby, and Aaron settled himself on the floor next to Reid and Jack. Outside, the storm was raging, throwing everything it had at them. But inside, they were all together, banding together to weather whatever might be thrown at them.


End file.
